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Generally speaking, one of the best practices of technical writing is to
make things simple wherever we find the scope to do so. The given instance
is a good example where we can apply this.
Raj
On Dec 13, 2007 9:00 PM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
> I don't know of any context in which a semicolon goes inside
> quotation marks, except perhaps if you're quoting something
> that actually ends with a semicolon. But as we've been
> discussing previously, in this application the best approach
> if users are expected to be on a low reading comprehension
> level is probably not to use the quotation marks at all and
> put the string on a separate line all by itself.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mary Ellen Schutz" <me -dot- schutz -at- juno -dot- com>
> > According to US English conventions, the comma (or semicolon) would be
> > inside the quotation mark, but I can foresee a problem when the manual
> > reaches the end user. You are giving them instructions to enter a
> > specific string and the sentence punctuation then appears to be part of
> > the string.
> >
> > Having written for the Air Force in my day, lead writer on an Air Force
> 3
> > computer contract many, many moons ago, I'd suggest recasting the
> > sentence as:
> > When the Test Path screen appears, type
> > "C:\Applications\testprograms\TS3.exe" and then select NEXT.
> >
> > While either a semicolon or a comma could be used, let's face it, "Then,
> > select next." can stand on it's own, introducing either and maintaining
> > standard US English grammar conventions will introduce confusion and
> > cause failures. The punctuation will, inevitably, be typed by at least
> > some users, right along with the rest of the path string. Bingo!
> Nothing
> > works.
>
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